Epic glacier collapse
Luckily he had a camera to photograph such a rare occurrence. And other visitors to capture video of ice falling.
The glacier, known as the Perito Moreno glacier is one of the largest in Patagonia, a region in southern South America. According to the NASA Earth Observatory, Perito Moreno glacier is different from others in that it is periodically cut off the main southern arm of Lake Argentino, known as Brazo Rico, forming a natural dam and prevents water from transferring between the two bodies of water. Reported NASA...
"This glacier is rather unique in that way bring the arm across the lake," said NASA scientist Jim Foster. Foster also curates Earth Science Picture of the Day, featuring a picture Grosso. "Most of the glaciers did not have the track, so that bridging and tunneling, at least on this scale, rather rare."
Grosso had witnessed a rare occurrence on January 19 at around 7:15 pm local time, there were only 20 to 30 visitors who were present at the time, he said. Fortunately, Grosso far enough that the water flow did not affect him, he said.
These are but a relatively small rupture of the glacier, however. Every four to five years Brazo Rico swells water levels as much as 98 feet (30 meters) higher than in Lake Argentino. When the stress is too much, glacier broke simultaneously, according to the Earth Observatory.
The last occurred in March 2012; this latest burst, witnessed by Grosso, and from the melting of the ice bridge is left of it, the collapse of 2012 which had a large hole punched through the glacier.
